Why paying for everything is important

In 1996, Nestle launched Milo, the chocolate powder with milk drink (similar to Boost, Bournvita) in India. It was an amazing drink and I loved it. What I loved more was the free gift that came with every packet — a ball, a cricket bat, a game etc. The cricket bat was my favourite. It broke in exactly one week’s time and I couldn’t do anything about it.

When you pay for something, you can demand quality.

So, the next time you take a free trial, remember to treat it as that — just a trial. Buy the full version post the trial and you can demand more from the service provider and from your team using it.

Never hire an unpaid intern. Pay them for it. If you pay them, you will set an expectation, you will value their work (and hence get them to work on something real) and you can demand quality.

After all, you never demand high quality from the DD National channel — it comes free. However, you will discontinue taking a Sony TV, if the quality isn’t good. You expect quality and can demand for it.